Gay Art And The Margins
What kind of art outrages people today? "It's not just obscene art that gets people riled; art with any suggestion of same-sex affection or eroticism will do almost as well. In a more closeted era, gay artists would speak in a subtle and complex code to gay audiences, a code that usually went over the head of the general populace. Today, the general populace is quite good at discerning even the sliest feints in the homophile direction."Washington Post11/30/03

Saturday, November 29, 2003

Time To Rethink Scottish Arts Funding?
The Scottish Arts Council announces another destabilizing funding cut. Why must we keep going through this? "Aside from the actual funding decisions themselves (and who would deny our neglected creators of children’s drama their new money?), I think it is time to question the whole way in which arts funding is structured in this country. The annual round of funding announcements appears to breed short-termism on the part of the SAC and chronic insecurity on the part of our arts organisations."The Scotsman11/29/03

Olympic Artists... What Role?
It's seven years until the Winter Olympics come to Vancouver. So what role will artists have? "Discussions are just beginning in Vancouver over the role artists can play in the games. Some figure it's going to be a great opportunity to get money and attention for new projects; others worry they will simply be eclipsed."The Globe & Mail (Canada)11/29/03

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

How To Make An Arts City
Vancouver has become quite adept at creating win-win situations for developers and arts groups, with the city making a push to increase its cultural visibility, even as it fills a need for new housing in the urban core. "In exchange for increased density for their buildings the developers are paired with non-profits that need new public facilities. The developer gets more condos or more offices to sell; the non-profit groups, 13 to date, get free use of programming space built specifically to their needs."The Globe & Mail (Canada)11/26/03

No Hard Times At Spoleto
It's not a good time for the arts in America, with budget cuts, looming deficits, and dwindling audiences seemingly national problems. But somehow, the Spoleto USA festival, based in South Carolina, keeps chugging healthily along, balancing its books and keeping its considerable audience happy with innovative presentations and high-quality music. "Last year's festival set a box-office record, with ticket sales totaling slightly more than $2.5 million. The festival recently concluded a $26 million fund-raising drive that, among other things, increased its endowment fund from $600,000 to $7 million." Among the highlights being planned for next year's Spoleto: a full performance of an 18-hour opera from 16th-century China.Charlotte Observer11/23/03

Sell 'Em The Hockey, Then Hit 'Em With Arts
A local arts advocacy group in Calgary is marketing a ticket package designed to get sports fans to the symphony. "The $70 package includes a ticket to a regular season Calgary Flames hockey game as well as tickets to two arts and culture events, including performances by local theatre troupes, a jazz dance ensemble or the the Calgary Philharmonic." Sports and arts are not generally considered to have much audience in common, but some on the Calgary arts scene see the package as important audience-building.CBC11/25/03

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Of Widow Villages And Wild Geese
"There are the so-called 'widow villages' throughout the United States, where Korean wives gather to live for their children's education. Meanwhile, the 'wild geese dads' in Korea send all of their paychecks to their families in the 'widow villages.' The amount of money that Korean husbands send to America is reportedly astronomical. All of this indicates that something is not quite right in Korea these days."Korea Herald11/25/03

Is Corporate Arts Support Evolving?
Corporate giving to the arts may be down in recent years, but that doesn't necessarily mean that America's business community is getting out of the culture game. In fact, signs of corporate commitment to the arts are all around, says Kurt Anderson. "By embracing art and artists as small parts of their businesses because they've decided that it's good for their corporate images," American companies may be showing us the future of private arts support.Studio 360 (RealAudio file)11/22/03

Nonprofits Following Dean's Lead
The internet has always held great financial promise for nonprofit arts groups and charities, but few of these groups have ever built a truly successful online fundraising apparatus. Now, with presidential candidate Howard Dean raking in record numbers of contributions from his online campaign efforts, nonprofits are taking notice. "They're using e-mail lists to solicit donations and mobilize support. They run educational campaigns through e-mail to keep their community informed. They even arrange 'meet-ups' offline to keep supporters involved."Wired11/25/03

Monday, November 24, 2003

The Art Of Marketing (Yes, It Is An Art)
"The position of marketing in the arts is not and never has been a sufficiently high priority. There is an old saying that if a show is successful, it is great art; if it fails, it is bad marketing. To market the arts means you have to accept that it is a product like everything else - obviously not something that sits well with some artists."The Scotsman11/24/03

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Restaurants, Culture - Let's Rate 'Em All
The Zagat restaurant guide has branched into rating culture in a big way. "For the Zagats, the new surveys offer a chance to satisfy an A-list of recent investors who would like to see revenues keep growing at a time when the restaurant guides have all but blanketed the country. For Broadway, Hollywood and the music world, the new guides could lend statistical proof to the old lament that the public appreciates some work far more than the critics do. For the culture as a whole, the guides are yet another way that public opinion, once it has been measured and disseminated, is now doubling back to influence the public itself."The New York Times11/23/03

Iraq Needs An Arts Plan
Iraq's artists are having a tough time. "Funding the arts may seem like a luxury in a country where many families still lack dependable access to clean water. But if the US is serious about building a model Middle Eastern democracy in Iraq, say some experts, it's going to have to rebuild the country's intellectual infrastructure as well as its buildings and roads."Christian Science Monitor11/24/03

Dammit, People, Put Some Clothes On!
David Hinckley is getting sick of the whole nudity thing. Don't pretend you don't know what he's talking about, either: at some point in the last few years, it seems as if the entire pop culture universe just decided to get naked, or damn near naked, and strut around for all the world to admire. It's getting old, and Hinckley would like everyone to put their clothes back on, please. Now.New York Daily News11/23/03

Thursday, November 20, 2003

How To Kill The Place Where Hip Lives (Get Popular)
In the 90s Hoston was the hot, hip area of London, the "playground" of the YBA artists. "But now there are whispers that Hoxton is on the way down. Popularity, they say, has killed personality. Overexposure has destroyed the sense of Hoxton as an exclusive club for the ultra- fashionable: on a Saturday night, the Hoxton-Shoreditch thoroughfare of Curtain Road has lost any sense of an alternative identity, and the Bacardi Breezer-drinking hordes are indistinguishable from those in the West End."The Guardian (UK)11/21/03

Sellars: Artists Must Take The Long View
Director Peter Sellars is impressed with demonstrations against the war in Iraq, but under no illusions that American policy will soon change. "We have different timelines. I'm accepting that for the next few years the headlines belong to [US Defence Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld. Our job as artists is to work for the next twenty years. I'm under no illusion that anything happens overnight. The real work is long-term. I have just come from Glyndebourne, working on Idonomeo and Theodora. These are pieces by artists from two different generations, Mozart and Handel, who were putting forward ideas - the end of autocracy and so on - that became the American revolution. That's what artists must do."Financial Times11/21/03

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Catering To The Over-15 Crowd
Science museums are generally kid-oriented institutions, featuring the type of whiz-bang exhibits a 10-year-old is guaranteed to prefer to sitting in math class. But a new science museum in London is aiming its marketing strategy squarely at the city's adult population, with exhibits and panel discussions on some of the most controversial scientific issues of the era. "Be it the implications of genetically modified foods, face transplants, sex over 60, male pregnancy, death or AIDS, the Dana Centre plans to tackle topical, and sometimes taboo, subjects."Wired11/18/03

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Mickey Mouse Turns 75
"The years have dulled Mickey's personality, a result of him becoming the corporate face of a multibillion-dollar entertainment empire. In the process, Mickey also has become a cultural Rorschach test -- a symbol of American optimism, resourcefulness and energy or an icon of cultural commodification and corporate imperialism."Dallas Morning News (AP)11/18/03

Monday, November 17, 2003

California - Art On 3 Cents A Year
State support for the arts in California is low, after recent budget cuts. How low? "To better understand how low public support has sunk, consider that Canadians spend an annual $145 per capita to fund the arts; Germans, $85; New Yorkers, $2.75; Mississippians, $1.31; Californians, 3 cents. 'That's gum balls,' says Barry Hessenius, director of the council. Three gum balls a year."Sacramento Bee11/17/03

Want State Arts Support? Run Artists
In a speech, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm apologizes for declining state support for the arts. "About this disconnect between art and politics: It is true that politics ends up flattening down the artistic edge. For in this line of work, you are either a zero or a sum. You are a Democrat or a Republican. You are pro-this or anti-that. There is little room to be nuanced, textured, deep or subtle. So, I think that we just ought to elect more artists. Not just wrestlers and movie stars, either, but musicians and painters, dancers, filmmakers and poets. Just don't run for governor for another 7 years."Detroit Free Press11/17/03

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Feeling Back In The Pink
From 1959 until two years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle painted its Sunday arts section pink. "The Pink" was a beloved Bay Area tradition that the Chron, in a wave of house-cleaning, did away with, much to the unhappiness of long-time readers. Now the paper has reinstated its distinctive salmon-colored section...San Francisco Chronicle11/16/03

Friday, November 14, 2003

The Miami PA Center" Battle With Quality Control
Construction of Miami's new $260 million performing arts center is well over budget and way behind schedule. An audit of the project shows that contractors have not been careful about quality control. And the budgeters didn't plan enough to pay for inspections. Indeed, the quality control program will "run out of the $900,000 earmarked for it about 13 months before the scheduled completion date."Miami Herald11/14/03

Angry French Artists Kidnap TV
French artists, aggrieved over a strike last summer, are increasingly making public protests. "They've driven a popular reality show from the air for two hours, taken a news show hostage for a minute of free advertising, and on Wednesday stormed a televised Parliamentary session. The new tactic is Act II of an uprising that started this summer when part-time show business workers shut down music and theater festivals across France."NJOnline.com (AP)11/14/03

Thursday, November 13, 2003

Tuition Increases - Don't Blame Colleges
Tuitions have been rising faster than the rate of inflation. So some in the US Congress want to limit increases somehow. But those increases haven't been the result of higher-education spending sprees. "From New York to California it's the same story. The proportion of public-college budgets supplied by the state has dropped precipitously. Someone has to pay for public colleges. Should state colleges take the heat when the legislatures purposely shift the burden from taxpayers onto students and their parents?"The New York Times11/09/03

Philanthropy - A Crisis In Confidence?
Some high-profile disputes about how recipients of philanthropy have spent money given to them have been in the news recently. "Not surprisingly, such public disagreements are starting to erode confidence in the nonprofit sector. A recent survey commissioned by Charles Schwab & Company, showed just 10 percent of affluent Americans age 45 and older are now planning to leave all or part of their estates to charities, universities, and other nonprofits. More than five times that number - 56 percent - said they plan to leave nothing to such organizations. Of those, 21 percent said they don't think the money would be well spent if given to charity."Christian Science Monitor11/14/03

Money For The Arts? Get In Line.
The city of Cleveland is trying to get voters to support the idea of putting public money into the arts. But even in a city which which desperately needs to reinvigorate its cultural scene, that sort of ballot measure is a tough sell, and the levy which arts supporters are seeking to bring before the public seems to be stuck in a complex set of negotiations over timing and budget priorities. Specific levies for individual projects are common in Ohio, and the arts levy may have to wait its turn behind levy requests for schools, parks, and a convention center.The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)11/13/03

More Swiss Misses Needed
A new report from Switzerland's national arts council has concluded that there are not nearly enough women with prominent roles in the country's cultural scene. “Women artists have not yet caught up completely. Numerically speaking, in fields such as literature where they are well represented, they account for one-third, while the proportion of women orchestra musicians is no more than about one-fifth.” However, the authors of the study say that the tide is already turning for female artists, and suggest that the problem will likely take care of itself in time.swissinfo11/13/03

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Miami: We're Banning Giant Puppets. Really?
"Over 100,000 protesters are expected at next week's Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Miami. In anticipation, the city is considering an ordinance that would, according to Reuters, ban "glass bottles, slingshots, signs on wooden sticks and giant puppets." Can Miami really ban giant puppets?"Slate11/12/03

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

As If A Sing-Along Sound of Music Weren't Trauma Enough
Eight audience members who plunged twenty feet into an orchestra pit while participating in a sing-along performance of The Sound of Music are suing the theatre which produced the show. "Several 'nuns' and others dressed in lederhosen suffered a variety of serious injuries after being invited on to a temporary stage set up over the orchestra pit for the Sing-a-Long Sound Of Music show. It is understood that the victims intend to claim damages for the psychological trauma of being involved in the 'horrific' incident, as well as their physical injuries."Ananova11/11/03

Monday, November 10, 2003

Newark's Performing Arts Center - No Cure For Urban Blight
In the mid-90s, Newark built a shiney new performing arts center in the middle of its blighted downtown with the hope of rejuvenating the area. Many cities have tried this. Terry Teachout reports after a visit this week that while the hall is a great place to attend performances, it seems to have done little to kick-start downtown. "Lincoln Center has its crippling flaws, God knows, but it did succeed in transforming New York’s Upper West Side almost beyond recognition. As of today, I’m still skeptical that NJPAC will do much more than make it possible for suburban New Jerseyites to see Miss Saigon without having to drive all the way into Manhattan. Somehow I doubt that’s what its founders had in mind."About Last Night (AJBlogs)11/09/03

Chicago's New Theatre - It Works
Chicago's new theatre for mid-size arts companies had its debut over the weekend. It's not the warmest space to be in, reports Sid Smith. But "on the plus side, the seats are comfortable, and a steep rake, especially in the balconies, makes for superb sightlines, particularly for dance. The well-equipped stage is wide and deep, but flexible, able to accommodate both the large corps de ballet from George Balanchine's 'Serenade' and the natural intimacy of duets during Saturday's inaugural gala."Chicago Tribune11/10/03

Previously: An Off-The-Rack Success Story "Chicago's new theater for midsize music and dance companies easily could have been a wallflower of a building, drooping in the background alongside the grand metallic bouquet of Frank Gehry's Millennium Park bandshell. But the theater turns out to be something else: a solid, sometimes soaring example of "stealth architecture," a mostly underground building that packs far more aesthetic wallop than its modest, above ground profile lets on."Chivago Tribune11/02/03

College Aid: Rich Get Richer?
"The US government typically gives the wealthiest private universities, which often serve the smallest percentage of low-income students, significantly more financial aid money than their struggling counterparts with much greater shares of poor students. Such disparities have been a sore point among universities for years, leftovers from an era when federal money was given to colleges on an individual, almost negotiable basis. Now, for the first time in more than two decades, the nation's financial aid officers are calling for the imbalances to be wiped away, replaced by a system that steers financial aid toward the universities that poor students actually attend, rather than those with the biggest reputations."The New York Times11/09/03

Does Tuition Aid Cause Higher Tuitions?
"Does federal financial aid simply give colleges an excuse to raise tuition higher and faster than they otherwise would?" Some are asking the question as the US federal deficit balloons. "Whether from necessity or principle, some Republicans now argue that holding the line on aid might be just the ticket to keep college costs down." Most higher-education economists reject the idea as "simplistic and ideologically convenient."Boston Globe11/09/03

The New Thing: Getting Informed
The Chicago Humanities Festival saw attendance soar by 45 percent this year; 50,000 came in the first weekend... "The festival's popularity is one sign of an American public that is becoming more deeply engaged in serious issues, such as national identity. In the late 1990s, networking clubs were means for aspiring entrepreneurs to find someone else's money to spend. The current wave of discussion clubs offers instead a vehicle to get clever, not rich, quick."Financial Times11/07/03

Friday, November 7, 2003

The Theatre That Ate Milwuakee?
The newly-revived 4,200-seat Milwaukee Theatre is opening. Supporters say the theatre will attract new shows to the city. But managers of Milwaukee's other theatres are unhappy. "Nothing different will come here. Everyone's fighting for the same shows, and that causes artists' fees and ticket prices to go up. There are fewer shows out there and more venues."Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel11/07/03

An Old Theatre's History
The Milwaukee Theatre began life as the Milwaukee Auditorium, nearly a century ago. "Enrico Caruso sang there before 6,800 people in 1910, a few months after the Auditorium opened Sept. 21, 1909. Doughboys used it for a barracks during World War I. John Philip Sousa and his band played in 1929. The first Milwaukee Sentinel Sports Show was held there in 1940. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke there in 1964."Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel11/05/03

Thursday, November 6, 2003

Congress Increases NEA Budget To $122 Million
"House and Senate conferees last week agreed to increase the NEA monies by $7 million over the amount in the original appropriations bill for the Interior Department, whose budget contains the arts-endowment funding. 'This special budget increase marks a new era at the NEA,' said Dana Gioia, the NEA's chairman."Backstage11/06/03

Will Fort Worth Repeal Public Art Allotment?
Voters in Fort Worth, Texas may get a chance to vote of whether they want to continue setting aside 2 percent of bond-issue construction projects for public art. The city's mayor proposed slashing the public art share to one percent earlier this year, but dropped the plan when many protested.Fort Worth Star-Telegram11/06/03

Image-Geist - Can You Just Snap Pictures Of Anyone?
"Digital cameras in cell phones are a huge hit - more than 80 million have been sold so far. But with so many people snapping away pictures, "what are the rights of the person being photographed, and should controls be put into place to limit where and how camera cellphones may be used?"Christian Science Monitor11/07/03

Pew To Change Status - Will Become A Public Charity
The Pew Charitable Trusts is changing its legal status and will become a public charity. "Pew would no longer be subject to a number of other legal and tax restrictions on private foundations, including self-dealing laws, restrictions on outside business holdings, and restrictions on making grants to government officials and individuals, to name a few. To maintain its status as a charity, Pew will have to raise outside money beyond the endowments of its trusts, which it has shown it can do for a number of Philadelphia civic projects, including the Barnes Foundation and the Independence Visitor Center."Philadelphia Inquirer11/06/03

Allen Hands Out Some Cash
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's foundation has handed out $12.45 million in grants to cultural and public service groups in the Pacific Northwest. At least $2 million of the money is earmarked specifically for arts groups in the Seattle area, and will be dispensed not only to the city's largest arts and music groups, but to many fringe organizations as well.Seattle Times11/06/03

Wednesday, November 5, 2003

Latino USA
Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority in the US, and they're having a big influence on mainstream culture. "There are now more than 35 million Latinos in the US. In the last year, Spanish has become the most popular foreign language in American high schools and universities."BBC11/05/03

A New, More Accurate Arts Formula
For years, arts supporters have used a mathematical formula to estimate the economic impact of theaters, orchestras, and art galleries on a given area. Trouble is, the formula's accuracy is arguable at best, and many have stopped taking it seriously. Now, a pair of Canadian researchers is proposing a new way of measuring arts impact, without confusing it with cultural tourism. "What the study suggests is the possibility of actually identifying a predictable pattern of development around arts facilities -- the researchers can already say specialty retailers follow restaurants, which follow the arts -- that would take the guesswork out of government plans to use the arts as a tool of urban regeneration."The Globe & Mail (Canada)11/05/03

Tuesday, November 4, 2003

Company Jumps Into The Arts Mentor Business
"In an unusual experiment in sponsorship Rolex has funded an initiative through which five leading artists take a young tyro talent under their wing for a year. As a wealthy foundation with no shareholders to please Rolex has been serious with its cash and time - the cost of the project comfortably topped $1m (£594,000)."Financial Times11/04/03

Will Arts Get Booted Off the Island?
Hawai'i is more than just another state in the U.S. Its geographic isolation from the rest of the country means that its population is quite insular and, despite the heavy tourist trade, relatively unchanging. These unique qualities make Hawai'i a charming place to live, but are posing a grave danger for the state's arts groups, many of which are in severe financial turmoil, and in need of public support. "Years of financial austerity measures have helped the major arts and cultural organizations survive, but administrators say innovative solutions are needed to cope with a confluence of negative local and national trends."The Honolulu Advertiser11/04/03

Monday, November 3, 2003

Miami Performing Arts Center Delayed And Over Budget
Miami's new $344 million performing arts center has been beset by delays and cost overruns. "Center officials recently moved the expected opening date to early 2006, over 16 months behind what was originally hoped for. Meanwhile, cost overruns that accrue from design changes, material shortages or flawed work will eventually have to be covered by someone -- either the county or the contractors."Miami Herald11/03/03

Who Will Pay To Run Miami PAC?
Construction delays and budget overruns are only part of the problem facing Miami's new performing arts center. How will the facility find money to stay open once it debuts? "At this point $15.2 million a year in expenses has been identified but only $12.5 million in revenue, leaving a $2.7 million yearly deficit. With the collapse of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, the PAC is left with only four resident companies. They're scheduled to fill only 125 nights a year of the combined total of 730 nights available in the PAC's two biggest performance halls. That's less than 20 percent.Miami Herlad11/04/03

Sunday, November 2, 2003

Why Are Newspapers Getting Rid Of Arts Critics?
The ranks of working arts critics are shrinking. "In their increasingly desperate efforts to attract younger readers, newspapers are jettisoning huge swaths of fine- and performing-arts coverage in favor of stuff that they think will pull in those coveted eyes. How to better cover movies, celebrities, reality TV, pop music and the dating scene? Those were the subjects that dominated workshops and conversations at a September meeting of the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, which I attended. They're making a mistake - and I'd like to believe it's not wishful thinking on my part."Orange County Register11/02/03

Chicago's New Home For Mid-size Arts
After "more than a decade of dreaming and planning, having the dreams fall through, regrouping and planning again," a new $52.7 million, 1,500-seat downtown theater for Chicago's mid-size performing arts groups is almost ready to open. There are some worries, though: "With costs of approximately $4,000 a day, it is far more expensive than the theaters previously used by many of its dozen founding members. With 1,500 seats, it is also larger, and groups may find themselves lost on the larger stage or have trouble filling the extra seats."Chicago Sun-Times11/02/03

An Off-The-Rack Success Story
"Chicago's new theater for midsize music and dance companies easily could have been a wallflower of a building, drooping in the background alongside the grand metallic bouquet of Frank Gehry's Millennium Park bandshell. But the theater turns out to be something else: a solid, sometimes soaring example of "stealth architecture," a mostly underground building that packs far more aesthetic wallop than its modest, above ground profile lets on."Chivago Tribune11/02/03

A Theatre With Dreams May Come...
Chicago performing arts groups are optimistic their new home will help build strong companies. "The original purpose behind this project was to provide stability to organizations such as ours that lacked a centrally located, permanent home in downtown Chicago. Our hope is that, as a consequence of our participating in this new venue, we can help each other build audiences."Chicago Tribune11/02/03

Harris Theatre: A Boon For Dance?
The Harris Theatre is particularly anticipated by Chicago dance companies. "It's great for the dance community and for us. The timing is perfect. But I have to question whether it will really satisfy the needs of the whole community or if it will prove an affordable theater that lots of companies will use."Chicago Tribune11/02/03

Why North Carolina Increased Its Arts Funding This Year
While 60 percent of American states this year cut their arts funding, North Carolina went the other direction, increasing arts funding by $377,000. This in spite of a proposal by the state's governor for a six-figure budget chop. So how'd it happen? "The majority of the members of our legislature are much more attuned to what the arts are doing back in their home districts than most people would assume," notes Regan. "I don't think it was that difficult for the arts community to make the case, because I think what the arts community was saying to the legislature was very quickly recognized as being the facts."Independent Weekly (North Carolina)10/22/03

de Waart: Australians Should Value Culture As Much As Football
Departing conductor Sydney Symphony music director Edo de Waart tells Australians their priorities are wrong. "A soccer match, a rugby match or cricket is way more important than the arts. Perhaps it is in your genes. In Europe . . . the British orchestras are paid worst of all. I think that has become normal here, too. You need someone like Paul Keating who will make the statement that the country is not only measured by how fast you can run 100 metres but also whether you have singers and theatre and movies that can be on the international stage."Sydney Morning Herald11/03/03

Saturday, November 1, 2003

US Rejoins UNESCO
After boycotting UNESCO for two decades, the US has once again joined the UN's cultural body. "The US has been granted a seat on the executive council for its ambassador, a post for which President Bush has nominated Louise Oliver, a conservative Republican fund-raiser who must be confirmed by the Senate."The Art Newspaper10/31/03